


Peanut Butter (and Jelly)

by MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30



Series: Romanogers Week [2]
Category: Black Widow (Movie 2020), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30/pseuds/MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30
Summary: The Five Times Natasha Refuses Peanut Butter and Jelly from Steve…and the One Time that She Relents
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Series: Romanogers Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762123
Comments: 2
Kudos: 70





	Peanut Butter (and Jelly)

**Author's Note:**

> Ships: Romanogers, mentions of Brutasha
> 
> Synopsis: The Five Times Natasha Refuses Peanut Butter and Jelly from Steve…and the One Time that She Relents
> 
> Words: 3032
> 
> Warnings: none
> 
> Notes: Prompt #3 for Romanogers Week - Peanut Butter

** 1) ** ** Moving Into Stark Tower **

The first night is always the longest. Though Natasha Romanoff’s lifestyle is mostly nomadic, it still takes time to adjust to a new environment, especially one as permanent as Stark Tower. It surprised her when Stark offered her a place to put her feet up when she wasn’t running errands for Fury (his words, not hers).

Having just returned from a mission in Syria 14 hours ago, Natasha bounces off her bed, slinking down to the common kitchen for some food. A light is on, and Natasha peeks through the entryway. The large frame of the super-soldier greets her, his face like that of a confused puppy as he rummages through Stark’s pantry. 

“Hot chocolate’s on the upper left corner behind the coffee.” Natasha suppresses a laugh at Steve’s deer-in-headlights expression. Those sky-blue eyes are as wide and innocent as they’d been in the Helicarrier; ironic considering their line of work.

“Here.” Natasha joins him. She’s familiar with Stark’s habits after her undercover stint as Natalie Rushman. In no time at all, the kettle is steaming, and she’s located two packs of Swiss Mix.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Ma’am? When was the last time someone called her that? “Steve, if we’re going to be living together, you might as well call me Natasha. Or Miss Romanoff if you’re so keen on being polite.” She grabs a couple of mugs, a jar of peanut butter, and some bread.

“Any jam?” Steve asks.

Natasha peers into the pantry. “You’re in luck, Captain.” Natasha holds up a jar of grape jam, sliding it towards him. The kitchen is silent as they pour out the hot chocolate and prepare their own sandwiches. Natasha wrinkles her nose in disgust as Steve slathers peanut butter and jelly, one on top of another. She didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and she liked her peanut butter untouched in all its nuttiness with the occasional crunch.

“Peanut butter and jelly? You have primitive taste in sandwiches,” she teases him.

“As opposed to only peanut butter?” Steve retorts and Natasha’s glad to see some of his politeness fade away. “The jelly adds a little something.”

“Too sweet for my taste.”

“You’d be surprised at how well those two different spreads work together.” His abnormally large bicep rubs up against her. Their hands are an inch apart, a distance either of them can easily cross.

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I give jelly a chance.”

Steve’s mouth quirks at that. “I’ll take you up on that.”

Her mouth nearly parts in surprise. Nearly. “That wasn’t a challenge, Rogers.”

“Sounded like one…Romanoff.”

She smirks at him. “How much are you willing to bet?”

He smiles at her, open and honest. “We’ll see.”

** 2) ** ** When She Reappears **

Steve collapses onto his bed in Stark Tower, the softness of his mattress a contrast to the thin motel beds he’s been sleeping on ever since he began his search for Bucky. However, a call from Tony alerted him to a new mission about destroying the remaining HYDRA bases, which sent him back here.

Sam returned to DC and Natasha…he hasn’t seen her since that moment in the graveyard. During his search, he glanced behind him once, twice, maybe a thousand times. It was so frequent that Sam suggested Steve reach out to her. But he knows Natasha better than that: she comes and goes as she pleases. If she wanted to see him, she would have appeared already. As Steve falls asleep, the last thought he has is her lips on his cheek and the regret he feels in letting her walk away.

When Steve wakes up, a strong smell of peanut butter invades his senses. On his bedside table is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich plus a glass of milk. He grabs the note next to it.

_ You need a better taste in sandwiches. _

A smile grows on his face. It’s Natasha’s handwriting; he learned to recognize it after hours of post-mission paperwork together. He wolfs down the sandwich before heading to the common kitchen. He slaps together a peanut butter sandwich, and another one with jelly. He lays it outside her door along with a glass of milk and his own handwritten note.

A few hours later, Natasha comes down, her peanut butter and jelly sandwich left uneaten. She smirks at him, and all is right with the world.

“Nice try, Rogers.”

** 3) ** ** On the Bartons’ Farm **

Natasha wriggles out of bed, removing Bruce’s hand from her waist. She kisses his forehead before sneaking down to the kitchen. After the day they had, she deserves a little treat.

The thud of the footsteps against Clint’s hardwood floors announces another night time companion in the form of Steve, his form hunched over the dining table. His head is in his hands, his blond hair rumpled.

“You look like hell,” Natasha remarks.

“That obvious?” The attempt at levity is dampened by his heavy tone.

Natasha rummages in the cupboard. “Clint keeps some of the good stuff here.” She hands him a jar of peanut butter and jelly, one of peanut butter for herself, and two spoons.

At his hesitation, she adds, “Don’t worry, Clint keeps it stashed for whenever I crash here.”

“How long have you known?” He digs into his jar.

“For a while now, since Cooper turned five years old.” She eats a spoonful with a satisfying crunch. “It’s a good place to lay low.”

“Yeah. Almost too good to be true,” Steve says regretfully. He shakes his head as he eats another spoonful.

“That’s what Clint said, and yet, he makes it work. Him, Laura, the kids. He’s the only one of us capable of leading any sort of normal life.”  _ Watch it, Romanoff, that almost sounded like envy. _

“What did she show you?” Steve asks, straight to the point as ever.

Natasha sniggers derisively into her peanut butter. “Just a reminder that I’m not cut out for his life.” Her life was to get to the next mission, finish it, and repeat. No matter how much she wanted something to return to, the Red Room had taken that away from her.

“Join the club,” Steve replies, and Natasha throws him a surprised glance. The guy who stood for a nation that idealized the 2.5 kids and white picket fence didn’t consider himself cut out for that kind of life?

“All anyone wanted after the war was to go home. But when does it ever really end?” He licks the last of the peanut butter and jelly, and Natasha struggles to pay attention to his words and not what his tongue is doing to that spoon.

Steve offers her the jar. She rolls her eyes. “Really, Rogers?”

“It’s not a sandwich…”

“But it’s still peanut butter and jelly.”

He retracts the jar. “One of these days, Romanoff,” he vows.

“Good luck with that, Rogers.”

At least the smile on his face is genuine.

** 4) ** ** On the Run **

It’s something to keep him occupied, especially since he’s going stir crazy in this safe house. After leaving Bucky in Wakanda and returning Scott and Clint to the States, Steve, Sam, and Wanda found a place to lay low. It was a modest cottage in the middle of nowhere that Natasha had once told him about.

Wanda needed a place to recover, and Sam had nowhere else to go. Steve, however, is not used to sitting still for so long. It would be a while before he could go back to saving the world. Besides, the team, or what’s left of them, needs his help.

He searches the cupboards for jam, after having located the peanut butter and bread.

“It’s my safe house. Did you really expect me to have jam?” Steve whips around to find Natasha leaning against the doorway. She looks different: her hair is shorter and blonde. Her signature smirk is still there, but the usual confidence is replaced by weariness.

“When did you get back?” Steve asks her.

“A few days ago. I had some business back in Russia.” Her voice throbs, but she clears her throat. “How are they?” She asks him, though she probably knows the answer to that.

“Recovering.” Steve hands her a slice of bread while he spreads peanut butter over the other.

“Any update on Barnes?”

“Still in cryo.” He split the team apart, and his best friend remains a fugitive. At least he would get some help. How many more people did he have to lose?

“It’s not your fault, Steve,” Natasha reassures him.

“Doesn’t erase what happened.” The team, Tony, hell even Natasha. She’d been so determined to stay together, but because of him…

“Rogers, don’t you dare spiral on me,” Natasha fixes him with a glare. His spirits lift a bit. At least some things never changed. “We all made our choices. I made my choice.”

“Why?” He asks her, a question that’s been hanging over his head ever since she let him go at the airport.

“Because I know you,” she says with so much confidence and trust. She’s closer to him now, close enough for Steve to smell the scent of honey that wafts off her hair. Close enough to see the flecks of hazel that adorn her green eyes. Close enough for his eyes to flicker to her lips. He leans down, hesitant, but she follows his lead, tilting her head upwards. Their lips brush the tiniest fraction…

“Cap?” Steve tears away from Natasha just as Sam appears on the landing. His eyes flicker between the two of them, lingering on Natasha.

“Wilson. Good to see you stuck around.” Sam glances at Steve, asking him for reassurance. Steve nods. Sam smiles then goes over to hug Natasha.

“You know I’m always up for another ride or die with you two.” He glances at the snacks they’ve made. “Peanut butter sandwiches? There’d better not be any jam in them.”

Steve groans at Natasha’s triumphant smirk. “Don’t get too cocky, Romanoff. We’ve still got one more house member,” he reminds her.

They bring the sandwiches up to Wanda, whose face lights up in the presence of the spy. The witch bites into a sandwich. “You’re missing the jam.”

Natasha rolls her eyes at Steve and Wanda. “Fine, we’ll make sure to get some jam in the next grocery run.”

“You’re staying?” Wanda asks, her sandwich disappointment forgotten.

Natasha’s eyes meet Steve’s, and he wonders if she’s thinking about what would’ve happened if Sam stayed upstairs a little longer. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

** 5\. Before the Time Heist **

Natasha stares at the words she’d scrawled a few days ago. Vormir: the place where Thanos killed his daughter in exchange for the Soul Stone. Billions of people would stay dead if Natasha didn’t do anything about it. She would not let Clint, who would go with her to the distant planet, do it; not when he has a family to return to. But most of all, she could not tell Steve. Her self-sacrificing idiot would jump off that cliff himself.

If she is going to go through with this plan, she might as well say goodbye to the things she loved. Like peanut butter: one of the things that kept her going these past five years.

She heads to the kitchen of the compound and finds a ready-made peanut butter sandwich beside one super-soldier who’s munching on a sandwich of his own. Peanut butter and jelly no doubt.

“Given up on trying to convince me? That doesn’t seem like you, Rogers.” She mounts the stool beside him.

“Big day tomorrow. I figured that I could try to convince you again when this is all over.”

She bites into her sandwich. She didn’t know if she’d even make it to the end when this is all over. “How do you know we’ll win?” Natasha asks him.

He polishes off the last of his sandwich. “Because it’s us, Nat. And we’re not going to give up. Not when we’ve got a shot at winning.”

“And what are you going to do when this is all over?” She brushes the crumbs off her hands.

“Maybe I’ll go and get that life you were telling me to get. Maybe finally find someone with shared life experience.” There it is again. That bubble that encircles them whenever an ‘almost’ dangles in the air. Despite all these years together, they’ve never evaluated their relationship. The world needed saving, and her family was broken. She couldn’t risk losing Steve if it didn’t work out.

“Who’d you have in mind, Rogers?”

He ducks his head, cheeks red. “There’s this woman. She’s my best friend. Has been since we shared a sandwich after moving in together.” He’s still avoiding her gaze.

“What’s she like?”

“Dangerous, scary. But she’s also selfless and determined. Only problem is that she hates peanut butter and jelly with a passion.”

She can’t breathe, her body buzzing with anticipation. “Sounds like a catch,” she remarks offhandedly.

“She’s much more than that.” Steve’s looking at her, and the sincerity in his blue eyes roots her to the spot. The air hums with a million unsaid things, and he’s leaning down. Screw it, she could die tomorrow, so Natasha surges upwards and meets him halfway. It’s slow and unhurried, much different from their kiss in the escalator, where he’d frozen in surprise.

He cups her cheek, and she lets him deepen the kiss. Her hands are in his hair, and they’re pouring eleven years of missed opportunities into this. Natasha tastes peanut butter and jelly on his lips, and it’s not so bad. If anything, it’s the sweetest thing she’s ever tasted.

Not that she’d ever let Steve know that.

** +1. When She’s Pregnant **

“STEVEN GRANT ROGERS, THIS IS ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!” Steve chuckles at his wife’s shouts. She always seemed to be blaming him for many things lately. Tony and Clint advised him to just play along, or else he’d suffer the dire consequences.

He goes to the kitchen where an unfinished peanut butter sandwich lies on the counter. Natasha is frantically rummaging through the cupboard, growling under her breath.

“Uh…Nat? What exactly did I do?”

Natasha slams the door and Steve gulps at the ferocity in his wife’s eyes. Her lips curl into a sickly-sweet smile.

“What did you do? Let’s see, you brought me back from the Soul Stone, married me, and knocked me up with two greedy babies who crave peanut butter and jelly.” She stalks towards him, hitting him with the full force of her glare. 

“So, let me repeat that this. Is. All. Your. Damn. Fault.” With each word, she pokes his chest hard. He clamps his mouth shut, resisting the urge to laugh. Tony had made that mistake once with Pepper and been sentenced to the couch for it.

“Nat.” He takes her hand, rubbing her knuckles. “I can just go to the store and get you a jar.”

“Not just any jar, Rogers. Make sure it’s the 2-in-1 peanut butter and jelly spread. The one Lila loves so much.”

Grateful that she calmed down, Steve gives her a quick kiss before hopping on his motorcycle, which is parked outside their apartment in Brooklyn. He arrives at the grocery store and with help from Clint, who could not stop laughing at Steve’s predicament, Steve found two of the coveted peanut butter and jelly jars.

As soon as the jar is in Natasha’s hands, she grabs a spoon and digs right in. That leaves Steve with the unfinished peanut butter sandwich.

Natasha swallows a spoonful. “You know, while we’re here, we should think about names.”

“What did you have in mind?” Steve bites into his sandwich.

“Considering our kids are half-Russian, half-American, we should probably give them one of each.”

Steve chews in thought. “What about Abraham for a boy?”

“Bit too on-the-nose there, Rogers.” She scoops up another helping. “Something less presidential.”

The two stew in silence until Natasha says, “I’ve got it. James.”

“James?”

“Yes, because he’s probably going to grow up as reckless as his dad. Might as well name him after your keeper,” Natasha smirks.

Steve shakes his head. “Bucky just had to open his big mouth…”

“And it will make great cautionary tales for our kids. Now, we just gotta come up with a Russian name.”

“Alexei,” Steve says. Natasha freezes, her spoon hovering over the jar. Steve plays it over in his head, remembering the stories that Natasha shared with him of her Russian adoptive father who had been Russia’s answer to Captain America. “Yeah, let’s name him Alexei. I figured, if he’ll be as reckless as me, he should be protective too.”

His wife’s eyes sparkle with tears. She swipes at them. “Damn, Rogers. It’s enough you got me to eat jelly. Now you’re making me cry too?”

“So, we’ve got our boy’s name. Any idea for our little girl?”

Natasha bites her lip. “How about Sarah?”

Now it’s Steve’s turn to freeze. “Really?” He has an image of a baby with his mother’s blonde hair and Natasha’s green eyes. 

“Yeah. It’s a strong name. She’s going to need it if she’s growing up in a family of fighters.”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll name her Yelena.” It was part of the business in Russia; Yelena, her sister, died in the process. It took a toll on Nat, who mourned her loss in his arms. “But it will be her first name, instead of her second.”

“Yelena Sarah.” Natasha smiles softly. “I like it.”

She finishes the last of her peanut butter and jelly but glances hungrily at Steve’s jar. He chuckles and passes it over to her.

“Told you I would eventually convince you.”

“Technically, it was our kids who convinced me. Guess hell has frozen over since I gave jelly a chance.”

“See, peanut butter and jelly work well together.” Steve scoots closer to Natasha.

“Yeah, they do.” She leans forward and kisses him, and it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted.


End file.
